


The Last Night

by ScienceFantasy93



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Comfort Sex, F/M, Non-Explicit Sex, One Night Stand, Takes place between The Dark Prophecy and The Burning Maze, sort of canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 05:56:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19245196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScienceFantasy93/pseuds/ScienceFantasy93
Summary: For the first time since their initial breakup, Jason had to hold himself back from breaking down. He wanted to, desperately. She stood there with her long dark braid hanging over her shoulder, her blue tie-dye bandeau bikini dripping wet and clinging to her curves. She looked tired but strong somehow, so damn resilient that Jason wondered if there was anything the gods and the Triumvirate could ever do to break her. But he knew that she must be crumbling inside from being so strong for her dad. He couldn’t lean on her. If anything, she should be leaning on him.Jason finds out that Piper is leaving for Oklahoma. He comes over to offer his comfort.





	The Last Night

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is pretty much canon. This takes place between The Dark Prophecy and The Burning Maze, before Apollo arrives in LA. It's been awhile since I read the Trials of Apollo (I just can't go back yet, not with the ending for TBM), so some details might be wrong, so please bear with me. But I just can't see Jason not offering comfort to Piper, and Piper not taking it in her own Piper-esque way. So, please enjoy!

It wasn’t the first time Jason had stepped into the huge Malibu mansion. He had done it dozens of times, maybe hundreds now. He could make his way through the wide hallways even in shadow – he couldn’t count the number of times he had sneaked into Piper’s room during their time together. She would leave the front door unlocked for him, and he would slip through the dark maze of the mansion until he stood outside her bedroom door.  
  
The memories burst through his mind like a midsummer storm, and he shook his head. His relationship with Piper had been amazing. They had ridden the highs like a surf board, arms outstretched and ready to tumble into the choppy waves below. And when they inevitably fell, they always got back up.  
  
It was amazing, he thought as he moved down the familiar stretch of hall, noting the absence of expensive paintings and exotic statues. They had gone through so much. He had lost his memories and been uprooted from his home, only to be plopped down in Piper’s life. She had been forced to remember a relationship that had yet to exist. They had fought monsters and sailed through the Mare Norstrum together on one of the most dangerous quests that had ever existed. They had almost died dozens of times. And then life had returned to normal. He had thought they were home free.  
  
It was amazing that something like uncertainty could tear them apart. It was amazing that they could weather so many storms, only to be split apart just as the sun blared through the clouds.  
  
But he understood. He understood that the beginning of their relationship had been rocky. He knew that Piper had always resented Hera messing with her mind. And he suspected that Piper had had these feelings of uncertainty for some time. While she had always acted so confident, he could remember seeing flashes of something dark and anxious in her eyes. She had always looked to Annabeth and Percy, like they were the perfect couple. And maybe, just maybe, he had been too rigid for her. Maybe he hadn’t been romantic enough. Maybe he had taken her for granted.  
  
He shook his head. Thoughts like those didn’t help anyone. Their relationship was over.  
  
But he had just heard the news. Piper and her dad would be leaving for Oklahoma in a few weeks. He loved her and always would. And with the storm that was coming, this might be his last chance to tell her.  
  
He made his way into the kitchen to the backdoor. He knew where she would be, and sure enough, the pool in the backyard was lit up by built-in tiki torches and fairy lights. He thought it was odd that he hadn’t encountered her father, that the house had been so dark, but he suspected her father was indisposed. The liquor cabinet in the kitchen had looked unusually empty.  
  
If Tristan McLean was drinking, that was not a good sign. He had never been as strong as his daughter, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t at least try. But if he knew anything, it was that Piper would be taking care of her father, taking care of everything. She would be making the arrangements to move back to Oklahoma, to move in with her distant cousins or into a cheap apartment. She would be selling off their valuables in order to lessen her father’s debt. She would be doing the work of someone twice her age so that her father could wallow in his misery. And that wasn’t fair. None of this was.  
  
He let himself out onto the back deck. He could just see the gleam of her dark braid as she hauled herself out of the pool. She straightened up to face him. “What’re you doing here?”  
  
For the first time since their initial breakup, Jason had to hold himself back from breaking down. He wanted to, desperately. She stood there with her long dark braid hanging over her shoulder, her blue tie-dye bandeau bikini – something he knew she’d bought at Walmart because she hated designer clothes – dripping wet and clinging to her curves. She looked tired but strong somehow, so damn resilient that Jason wondered if there was anything the gods and the Triumvirate could ever do to break her. But he knew that she must be crumbling inside from being so strong for her dad. He couldn’t lean on her. If anything, she should be leaning on _him_.  
  
“I got your message,” he explained softly. “I wanted to – I needed to see you. I texted, but you didn’t respond, so…”  
  
“So you decided to come make sure I was okay?”  
  
Jason shook his head. “I just needed to see you. I don’t know what’s going to happen, if I’ll get to see you again before you leave.”  
  
Piper tugged at the end of her braid. He knew it was a nervous habit. He wondered if his presence made her nervous, or if there was ever a time when she didn’t feel anxious.  
  
After a moment, she said, “Thanks. That’s nice of you, I guess.”  
  
He nodded. “If there’s anything I can do…”  
  
She shook her head. “There really isn’t. There’s nothing anyone can do. My dad…” Her voice cracked.  
  
“Is he drinking?” Jason asked gently.  
  
“I’m pretty sure he’s passed out in his room right now. He just doesn’t care anymore. His whole life has fallen apart, and he’s losing his mind. I hate this, I hate seeing him like that. And there’s nothing I can do about it.” Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I’ve tried talking to my mom, but I’ve gotten radio silence. So there’s nothing left to be done. All I can do is pick up the pieces.”  
  
“Sometimes that’s all you _can_ do,” Jason reminded her softly. “And that shows how strong you are. You’re so damn courageous, Pipes. You’re going to get through this, one way or another.”  
  
She smiled. It trembled, but it was still a smile. “You always know what I need to hear. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. Somehow, you always make me feel better.”  
  
“That’s what I’m here for.”  
  
There was a moment where they just looked at each other, and then Piper stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Her lips met his, and he kissed her back. He knew this wasn’t about getting back together. They probably never would. This was about comfort and relief, about nostalgia and familiarity. This was about her needing something more, just for the moment. She would go back to her life tomorrow, and so would he. But as she pressed her body against his, leaving a wet imprint along his clothes, he knew for however long he lived that he would never forget tonight. He would make sure of it.  
  
Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, and he obediently shrugged out of it. He could feel her tongue pressing into his mouth, and he reached behind her to unhook her bikini top.  
  
He hesitated, waiting for her to stop him, but instead she pulled back and fixed him with one of her burning gazes. “Well? What’re you waiting for, Sparky?”  
  
He kissed her again and undid her bikini top, letting it fall to the ground. Her hands were at the front of his jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping, and then at the waistband of his boxers so she could push them to the ground. Jason eased her bikini bottoms down her legs, reveling in how soft and smooth her skin felt, and vaguely wondered if he would ever get to stroke his hand up and down her thighs ever again.  
  
Piper led him into the pool and he pressed her against the wall, kisses becoming more urgent. He let his fingers glide over her breasts and down her torso to the space between her legs. Her moans echoed in his mouth and her own fingers raked through his hair, tugging desperately at it.  
  
It didn’t take long for her to tug particularly sharply on his hair. That was his cue. He guided himself to her entrance and pushed in.  
  
Her hips moved in rhythm with his, and he held her tightly, reluctant to ever move his lips away from hers for fear that it might be the last time he’d get to kiss her. But all too soon she was falling apart around him and he was following suit.  
  
Jason slowly pulled away, keeping his gaze trained on Piper’s face for any signs of regret. There were none.  
  
Instead, she tossed her braid over her shoulder and leveled her eyes on him. “My room?”  
  
“Are you sure?”  
  
“Have you ever known me to not be sure when I invite you up to my room?”  
  
He had to smile at that one. “As long as your dad doesn’t catch us.”  
  
“Like I said, he’s probably passed out cold.” She raised herself out of the pool and grabbed a towel draped over the lounge chair, wrapping it around her petite body. She passed him another towel before scooping up her bikini. Jason grabbed his clothes, and together they tiptoed back into the house and up the stairs to her room.  
  
Once they were locked safely in her bedroom – her bikini wrapped in towels so it wouldn’t drip all over the carpet – she pounced on him again, unfastening their towels and steering him towards her bed. He let her take control, giving her the chance to work out her frustrations through the night.  
  
And as he finally collapsed beside her, arms around her, her body pressed into his, he whispered, “I love you.”  
  
“I love you, too,” she murmured back. “Always have. That hasn’t changed.”  
  
And he drifted off to sleep with a smile on his lips.  


* * *

He woke before dawn the next morning. Piper was still curled up to him, but he knew that she wouldn’t want to face the memory of their one-night-stand, especially in the light of their breakup. He knew that if he stayed, there might be a decision made, a bad one. She might go back on her choice, and as much as he wanted her, would always want her, he knew that right now they were better off apart. She didn’t need the complications of a relationship, especially a long distance one, and he would always wonder if the only reason she’d gone back to him was for the comfort and ease.  
  
They wouldn’t be getting back together. Maybe one day. But not now.  
  
And so he wiggled out of bed and grabbed his clothes, easing them on carefully. He pressed his lips to Piper’s one last time and quietly let himself out of her room. He would be gone when she woke up, and he knew it was for the best.  
  
She would contact him when she wanted to see him again.  
  
But for now, he knew she loved him and she knew he loved her. And that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed that a lot of people were really torn up over Jason not knowing how much Piper loved him, so I just had to make sure that she told him in this. Since this is canon, in my mind he knows in some way what's coming. But at least they had this one night. So, I hope this eases anyone's pain over TBM's ending. :)


End file.
